The Rajasthan High Court granted bail to an individual charged with sending a proxy to sit for a teacher's examination. This decision was based on the fact that the candidate was not caught during the exam, and the case was filed a year after the examination took place.

The bench led by Justice Farjand Ali was reviewing the bail application filed by the accused.

In the said matter, it was alleged that the petitioner, an applicant for a teacher recruitment exam, had sent a proxy to take the exam on his behalf.

The accused faced charges of cheating by personation under Section 419 of the IPC and violations of the Rajasthan Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2022. Additionally, he was booked under Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2008, which penalizes cheating by personation using communication devices or computer resources.

After reviewing the case materials, the Court noted that while it was alleged that a proxy had taken the exam on behalf of the accused, a crucial fact emerged: the dummy candidate was not apprehended during the examination. Instead, the case was filed a year after the exam had taken place. The Court remarked:

“The startling fact of the case would be that the candidate was not apprehended in the examination hall, rather the case was lodged after one year of the examination. Thus, a strong arguable case exists in favour of the petitioner.”

Considering this peculiar fact, the Court found it suitable to grant the benefit of bail to the petitioner. Accordingly, the bail application was allowed.

Case Title: Prem Raj v State of Rajasthan